Chapter 5 Amnesia?

The banquet hall is on the second floor.

Luo Xincheng wiped her hands back and forth with a handkerchief, her fingers flexing and then closing, still feeling uneasy. She glanced around and finally took a glass of champagne from the waiter's tray.

After pressing my palm against the cool cup for a while, I felt the annoying heat gradually subside.

Regardless of the occasion, tickling someone's palm is a very ambiguous, even intimate, gesture.

The Fu Zhiheng of the past would never have dared to make such a provocative move.

Luo Xincheng's face darkened considerably.

That's why they say money can corrupt people's hearts; even someone as honest and unassuming as him in high school becomes frivolous after entering a wealthy family.

The thought that this person was her ex-boyfriend made her feelings even more complicated.

High school was definitely the most unpleasant period of her life.

During that time, her parents remarried one after another and each formed a new family. She was originally her parents' only child, but after their remarriage, she gained a step-sister who was four years older than her in her mother's new family, and a step-brother who was one year younger in her father's new family.

The huge gap made it difficult for Luo Xincheng to integrate into her new family for a long time. She already had a bad temper, and after constant friction with her new family, she became even more unpredictable and neurotic.

She's fine in front of strangers, but she can't be bothered to pretend in front of her boyfriend at all. Every few days, she'll start complaining and acting crazy to him...

Her past is full of dark history, and she rarely thinks about what happened during that time. Every time she does, she gets so frustrated that she digs her toes out of her skin.

Moreover, during their relationship, Fu Zhiheng's treatment of her was definitely not good.

She mostly treated him as a tool to run errands and do homework, bossing him around and not giving him much of a friendly look every day. Their breakup was also undignified. Now that he has gained power, it's hard to say whether he will take revenge on her.

Call it being a fool who's making trouble for himself, or judging others by one's own petty standards, but the point is, if she was being bossed around by her so-called 'lover' during her impoverished and humble days, she would definitely retaliate once she became successful.

But it's not necessarily true that she's terrified of his revenge. It's just that he's seen too much of her hidden side, so she always feels awkward around him.

If only we could make him lose his memory.

She walked slowly to the edge of the terrace by the side door of the banquet hall, casually placed her wine glass on the railing, and thought aimlessly.

At this moment, the sky had completely darkened, and the cool moonlight and the halo of light shining from the banquet hall reflected on the dense and beautiful flowers on the terrace, making the delicate petals almost transparent and casting a dark and mottled shadow.

Amidst the swaying shadows of flowers, she leaned against the railing, her hands clasped together, a few strands of her long, curly hair lifted by her elbows and swaying gently.

When Fu Zhiheng arrived, this was the scene he found.

While exchanging pleasantries with Jiang Xu, he racked his brains trying to steer the conversation toward Luo Xincheng, but when his gaze fell upon her again, all he saw was her figure walking away.

Is she deliberately avoiding him?

Lost in thought, Luo Xincheng, keenly aware that someone was approaching, casually turned her head to look.

The hazy light and shadow made her beautiful features appear even more enchanting and dreamlike.

With this movement, the long strands of hair that were originally hanging down by her side were instantly flung behind her.

Her full, curved hair swept across her cinched waist and hips, her long, thin shadow quickly disappearing into the rippling hem of her skirt.

Fu Zhiheng's breath caught in his throat, and his heart skipped a few beats.

Upon seeing that it was him, her eyebrows suddenly rose, but she quickly returned to her expressionless state.

Fu Zhiheng, who had been staring intently at her face since entering the terrace, did not miss this subtle change in expression.

Are you surprised that it was me who came?

He unconsciously pursed his lips and walked straight toward her. As the distance between them closed, he hesitated and paused, finally standing properly three steps away from her.

Seeing this, Luo Xincheng's furrowed brows gradually relaxed.

She silently looked away, pretending to gaze intently at the garden below, but her peripheral vision honestly targeted Fu Zhiheng.

He didn't seem inclined to speak first. After her gaze shifted away, he lowered his head and stared intently at a hibiscus that was leaning towards him.

A gentle evening breeze rustled the flowers and leaves, and the air grew increasingly stuffy with the silence.

Finally, Luo Xincheng couldn't stand the awkward atmosphere any longer. She silently cleared her throat and took the initiative to break the silence by bringing up a topic.

"I thought Mr. Fu would talk to Jiang Xu for a little longer."

Mr. Fu...

It's Mr. Fu again.

Fu Zhiheng stared at the hibiscus flower whose petals and leaves were swaying in the wind for a long time. After a moment of silence, he used his slender, fair fingers to part the layers of petals and gently pressed the tender yellow stamens.

“Mr. Jiang, you don’t seem very interested in talking to me.” His tone sounded somewhat dejected.

Luo Xincheng: "..."

Just because he doesn't want to chat with you doesn't mean I do.

She took a few sips of wine to cover up her urge to complain.

At this moment, Fu Zhiheng slowly turned his head to look, and the sparse light reflected on his glasses, a shimmering light flashing by.

As if he could read her mind, he said, "You don't want to talk to me either."

You knew that, so why did you come?

She gave a formulaic smile and said coldly, "I just don't like chatting with strangers."

Upon hearing this, Fu Zhiheng let out a cryptic chuckle. "Stranger? Me?"

He took a deep breath, his voice trembling, a stark contrast to his previous composure, "Luo Xincheng, how long are you going to pretend you don't know me?"

Upon hearing this, Luo Xincheng abruptly turned to look at him, her eyes wide and her lips slightly parted, as if she were using all her acting skills to portray shock.

"What do you mean? Isn't this the first time Mr. Fu and I have met?"

Fu Zhiheng's face froze, his eyes filled with disbelief, as if he hadn't expected her to insist on not knowing him under these circumstances.

Before he could react, Luo Xinheng rubbed his temples and continued to explain, "I'm so sorry, I was in a car accident a while ago and I don't remember a lot of things from before."

"..."

Fu Zhiheng stared blankly at her face, speechless for a long while, before repeating in a daze, "Car accident?"

"Um."

After getting off to a good start, she launched into her speech without any notes: "Three months ago, there was a multi-vehicle collision in the east of the city. I was one of the victims. Although I only suffered a moderate concussion, my memory has been in a state of confusion ever since. I can't remember many things and people."

She paused slightly, then added casually, "This traffic accident was on the news; you can easily find it with a simple search."

“Three months ago…” He frowned and spoke softly, “I was not in the country at that time and only came back in the last few days, so I haven’t heard about this.”

Luo Xincheng smiled silently and said, "Is that so?"

Then he didn't reply.

Fu Zhiheng, on the other hand, showed undisguised shame on his face, and whether intentionally or unintentionally, he carefully took two steps toward her.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have been so harsh just now..." He hesitated for a moment, then looked at her with a mixture of pleading and suspicion. "So you... have amnesia?"

She pondered for a moment, then said seriously, "Not really, it's just that my memories are very confused, some I remember and some I don't."

He then asked, "Do you still remember things from high school?"

"Uh...it's been a long time. I can't remember most of them, whether they were classmates or teachers...Could Mr. Fu be my high school classmate?"

Upon hearing the word "classmate," Fu Zhiheng's lips twitched slightly, but he ultimately nodded under her distant gaze.

Luo Xincheng let out a breath, "Really? I don't remember at all... I know this sounds melodramatic and dramatic. At first, my family and friends all thought I was joking, but unfortunately, it's true."

She tapped her forehead with her fingers, showing a headache. "Every time I try to recall something, I get a terrible headache and feel nauseous. The doctor advised me to let it go and not worry too much about those memories, so..."

She shrugged and forced a helpless smile.

Fu Zhiheng's ambiguous gaze fell on her, as if he wanted to say something but hesitated.

Just as she thought he was about to ask something else, she saw him lower his head and let out a resigned sigh, "Perhaps it's because those memories aren't important to you..."

These words were as light as a petal he had just plucked, falling shakily without wind, brushing against the back of his smooth hand as they landed.

Luo Xincheng glanced at him out of the corner of her eye, then suddenly changed the subject, "But to be honest, I really want to regain those old memories."

Fu Zhiheng's long, drooping eyelashes trembled violently.

"Why?"

His voice rose almost imperceptibly at the end.

"Because it's too much trouble to remember."

She listlessly ran her fingers through her long hair hanging down in front of her, her tone indifferent as if she were talking about someone else, "Ever since I was discharged from the hospital, there have been random people jumping out and saying they're my ex-boyfriend or something, making it sound so convincing and detailed..."

She let out a ridiculous "ha!" and said, "But I look at them from left to right, and they're not my type. Why don't I look in the mirror and examine my appearance before going out?"

"What's even more interesting is that they keep saying they're my ex-boyfriend, but they can't even produce a single photo of them together."

She turned her head to look at Fu Zhiheng, her eyes crinkling with laughter, "Isn't it funny?"

Fu Zhiheng didn't answer, but silently stared at the hibiscus flower that he had torn and made thinner, his head lower and lower, a small section of his pale neck peeking out from his smooth collar.

Seeing this, Luo Xincheng silently curled her lips and raised her champagne to take a sip.

"What if..."

Just when she thought Fu Zhiheng would remain silent, he suddenly turned his head to look at her, his face blank and expressionless. "What if there's a real one inside?"

She seemed not to understand, and asked with a smile, "Really what?"

"A real boyfriend."

"……Oh."

She chuckled and said, "But I asked my family and friends, and they all said I've never had a boyfriend before. Compared to my ex, whose relationship status I don't know if it's true or not, I'm more inclined to trust my family and friends."

Hearing this, the bewilderment on his face deepened. "Maybe they don't know."

"You didn't know I've had a boyfriend?" Her smile deepened, and her eyes curved into thin crescent shapes, but the smile didn't look sweet. On the contrary, the sarcasm emanating from her eyebrows and the corners of her eyes made her look extremely mean.

"But if even my childhood friends don't know I ever had a boyfriend, doesn't that just mean I didn't care about him at all, and that's why I never made it public to my friends? Why would such a dispensable ex come knocking on my door? Surely he's not hoping to rekindle our relationship?"

As if she had been tickled, she chuckled.

Fu Zhiheng lowered his eyelids, avoiding her piercing smile.

She leisurely drew out the last syllable of her sentence, took a slow sip of her drink, and then said nonchalantly, "Isn't this just inviting humiliation?"

The raised wine glass partially obscured the lower half of her beautiful face. She narrowed her eyes, her dark pupils slowly turning towards him.

What does Mr. Fu think?

"..."

Fu Zhiheng glanced at the slender tulip cup between her fingers as if he hadn't heard her.

Through the thin glass and the pale gold liquid, he quietly gazed at her distorted half-face reflected in the glass, carefully examining her unrestrained and flamboyant smile. His glint of light flickered as he looked at the blurry lip print on the transparent glass.

He blinked as if waking from a dream, only after she put down her glass and let out a confused hum.

"……I have no idea."

His voice was hoarse, as if he had been startled when he spoke. He quickly turned his head away, his jaw slightly tense.

Immediately afterwards, a short "gurgle" sound suddenly rang out in the quiet air.

He swallowed hard, trying to cover his tracks.

When he spoke again, his voice became stiff and cold.

"I have no idea."

"..."

Luo Xincheng looked at his ears, which were so red they looked like they were dripping blood, with a complicated expression.

Grass.

So all that talk she just said was for nothing?!

A note from the author: